Small Farms Today and in the Future (10 Minutes - Frame/ReFrame)

In this next step, discuss some major components of small farming operations. What types of farms are there anyway? Some major types include:

• Poultry Farms

• Dairy Farms - milk, cheese

• Grains - Corn, wheat, soy

• Beef/Hog 

• Vegetable/Fruit Orchards

Some of the major components to starting a small farm include:

• Land - One of the biggest barriers to starting a farm is obtaining an actual piece of land. One of the classic ways to find the land is to link up with your state’s FARMLINK program. These state-based offices facilitate the transition of land between generations of farmers and ranchers, keeping track of people who have land and are ready to pass it down to new farmers who don’t have land.

• What to grow - Most growers tend to raise annuals (a crop that is grown once a season), as opposed to perennials (crops that take several seasons to grow, or grow every year), because they do not have to make such a long-term investment. 

• Buying Seeds - Gardeners and farmers have many seed vendor choices to choose from. A good starting place is the NCAT’s Organic Seed Suppliers: https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/organic_seed/.

• Sustainable Pest Management- In managing insects, weeds, and disease, sustainable farming relies on practices that reduce chemicals and activities harmful to the environment.

• Equipment Buying & Leasing - Your farm will require equipment like tractors and tools.

• Soil Fertility - A constant concern is soil fertility, adding nutrients like compost back into the soil.

• Irrigation - Water supply is key to a successful farm. Irrigation brings fresh water into fields.

• Livestock - Managing and raising animals.

Research regional or local farms in the area. If possible invite a local farmer to share his/her story of founding, operating or caring for a farm. 

Consider regional elements like climate, soil and proximity to road infrastructure with your students. What kinds of farms make sense for the region? Visit the National Garden Associations website to find out which hardiness zone your region falls into: https://www.garden.org/zipzone/

Before beginning your design lab exercise talk about some recent agricultural projects featured in the 2010 National Design Triennial that are using new technologies and community-based design to revolutionize how urban centers grow food. 

• Eco-Laboratory - Increasing food production without negatively impacting the environment is at the heart of vertical farming, a new approach to fresh-food distribution for urban centers. A vertical farm grows food crops within the controlled environment of a multistory building. One of the pioneers of the vertical-farming concept is Dickson Despommier, a microbiologist and ecologist at Columbia University’s School of Public Health. Growing food inside using technologies like hydroponics and aeroponics grow plants without soil, using a liquid nutrient and mist to fertilize crops. This kind of indoor farming allows crops to be grown year round and organically and eliminates agricultural runoff, reduces infectious diseases, converts black and gray water into potable water, restores farmland to a natural landscape, and reduces fossil-fuel use by reducing farm equipment and food shipping, to name just a few. Despommier is developing a vertical farm and community called the Eco-Laboratory a program that merges a neighborhood market, dwelling units, a vocational training facility, and a sustainability educational center for the public into a financially viable downtown residential development. https://www.verticalfarm.com/

• Viet Village Urban Farm is an urban farming project located in New Orleans East, an area hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. The location is in the northeast corner of the city. The new farm will use sustainable irrigation techniques that require little or no electricity to pump and filter water used in the fields. Locally-grown organic crops will be sold in a new on-site farmer’s market that will accommodate the estimated 3,000 Saturday shoppers who used to buy foods before Hurricane Katrina hit.

Divide students into design teams. Challenge each team to design a sustainable farm that could be found somewhere in the region. Use the Viet Farm as an example to guide students. Encourage diversity and multiple uses of both land and the nearby community.

Viet Village Urban Farm Stats: The site is 20 acres. 8 acres will be divided into rental plots for gardening. 4 acres will be used for free-ranged chickens and goats. 2 acres for water retaining pond for irrigation.1 acres for recycling of organic wastes and composting. 3 acres will be for parking, greenhouse, storage, and processing. 2 acres remain will absorbed by paths in and around the farm. A local will serve on an average of 300 to 400 shoppers. The hope is to develop a track of land next to the farm for a open market which will hold up to 150 vendors. At the new market, we will have local restaurants perform cook demonstrations of their specialty dishes with ingredients purchase from market's vendors. 

Each team will be assigned a different kind of crop focus - but each team can add more options to his or her design. Encourage each team to come up with an overall concept design, a sketch of the farm’s fields, buildings and water supply.

• Dairy Farm

• Grains - Buckwheat

• Orchard - Apples and Peaches

• Vegetable Farm - Broccoli, Peppers and Eggplant

Ask students to think about the design examples from the Triennial and how they can adapt their farms to an urban environment. If time allows, encourage each student or team to develop a way to get their food to people in a nearby town or city. If appropriate, ask each student to integrate sustainable technologies like renewable energy systems into their farm designs.

Challenge each team to make a model or poster of their newly design farm. Each team must explain how their farm addresses environmental concerns that contribute to water and soil quality. How does their farm provide a more sustainable way of working with the land?

Finally present your new farm designs to the class. (Share and Evaluate) Discuss how each small farm could fit into the local landscape. Talk about a strategy to connect your school to local farms.